I finally made it to the WPPI convention the other week.  WPPI stands for Wedding and Portrait Photographers International and it truly is international as there were over 16,000 photographers from all over the word in attendance.  Talk about overwhelming!  I have wanted to go for the last couple of years but due to different circumstances I was unable to.  Well it was a pretty amazing experience.  The speakers I heard definitely gave me food for thought and sparked ideas of what I can do to improve myself and what I do.  Plus I got to see all the toys….oh I mean tools that are associated with the industry.  But the best thing was getting to meet other photographers to share thoughts and ideas as well as hook up and catch up with old friends as well. 

In association with the conference WPPI also conducts their 2 biggest competitions of the year, the Album Competition and the 16 X 20 Print Competition.  Both of these competitions are huge in the wedding and portrait industry because they really are international with entries coming in from all over the world from many of the very finest photographers in the industry.  I was not able to attend any of the judging but from all accounts I heard the judging was particularly hard and brutal this year.  When the dust settled there were only two rooms of prints displayed that had been awarded accolades of excellence.  I was told that last year there were three rooms and also some down the hallway.  So I was greatly honored to find I had a print hanging.  I mean I believe that I have been producing quality images and it is always nice to hear people compliment you but sometimes you just have to wonder, “Where am I in the grand scheme of things?  Am I good, okay, great…what?”  So sometimes to answer that question you have to put yourself out there and play in the big arena.  Often you get smashed but even then it is a learning experience and if you go with the right attitude even those setbacks can be positive, teaching you and making you grow.  But when you earn an award you then know you are producing world class images at the top of the industry.

I owe a lot to my friend, teacher, and mentor, Scott Robert Lim.  I have been friends with Scott for many years but it was not till I took one of his workshops a bit over three years ago that I began my adventure and journey to true growth in photography.  I would never have been able to achieve this high level in such a short time if I had not had his knowledge and guidance.  In addition, I credit Brian Ng who gave me my first opportunities to shoot and shared thoughts and philosophies that continue to shape what I do.  Prompts to the entire Scott Robert community as well, it is great to have a community that shares and supports one another as we all strive for excellence.  Thanks also to Brian Lee who assisted me to execute this image on one terrible gloomy and rainy day, just showing that for a wedding photographer there are no excuses, you owe it to your clients to produce good imagery even if conditions are far less than ideal.  And lastly thanks to Luisa & Allen, who were brave enough to trust me and go out to shoot this shot on their special day.

Here is my print hanging on the wall.

Here is a better look at the image

I know that Valentine’s Day is when we tend to think of that romantic type of love and I hope that everyone had a good one, but the other day I saw on Facebook that my friend’s father pasted away last week. My prayers and thought are with her and her family.  It made me sad to hear that news, it usually does, but I guess I am a bit more sensitive right now since I lost my own Dad this past June.  Like so many other Asian Dad’s mine was not always the best at sharing his feelings.  I know that he loved us and always did things in his own way to show us, even if we didn’t always get it.  I am hopeful that my Mom and Dad got to spend their first Valentine’s together in years.  I realized after speaking with many of my Dad’s friends just how much he missed her.  

I am sad for my friend’s loss, but am glad that I got the chance to meet her Dad when I shot some family portraits for them a few months ago (I am not posting any here for their privacy).  Even in that short encounter I could see his fun and joyous nature, and he did a great job of hanging in there as we walked around in the hot sun.  It was a great honor that they allowed me to share a piece of their lives and record some images for them. 

One of my favorite things about shooting family portraits is the time I get to spend with the family and enjoy their company.  I hope that the experience of going out to create the portraits is as much a part of the memory as the images that we come away with.  Please don’t take those around you for granted, cherish each moment because each one is special.  Hope everyone had a good Valentine’s, give someone close to you a big hug!  Here are some images from some family sessions I was privileged to share in.